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List Price: $39.99 | | Label: Walt Disney Video
Salesrank: 27188
Released: March 13, 2001 |
| Our Price: $20.50 |
| Used Price: $6.98 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A highly decorated, retired U.S. Marine general (Ed Harris) seizes a stockpile of chemical weapons and takes over Alcatraz, with 81 tourists as hostages on the San Francisco Bay isle. His demand: Restitution to families of soldiers who died in covert operations. The response: An elite Navy SEAL team, with support from an FBI chemical-warfare expert (Nicolas Cage) and a former Alcatraz escapee (Sean Connery), is assembled to penetrate the terrorists' defenses on the island and neutralize the threat before time runs out. The result: A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller with a first-rate cast, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry bruckheimer.
The Rock - Criterion Collection Reviews:
A good popcorn movie. 
2009-11-10 - Standard-issue action flick, with the requisite explosions and high-octane action inherent in every Michael Bay film. Connery pulls off one of his more unusual roles, as a former Alcatraz inmate and escape artist. Nicholas Cage is amusing as the chemist whose life is suddenly turned upside down, and Ed Harris plays the angry Vietnam Vet with the required emotional scars. The action is non-stop, at times frenetic, and by the end lots of stuff has blown up and the target audience is no doubt satiated. Not sure why Criterion opted for this one, except maybe to boost its revenues so they can finance the more obscure and arty titles they normally release.
Cocked, locked and ready to Rock. 
2008-06-27 - People seem genuinely confused why Criterion chose to release this title (along with Armageddon) under their esteemed label. Hey, you gotta pay those bills somehow, right? Pressings of Ivan's Childhood ain't gonna do it.
I, and many others, are certainly glad Criterion tackled Michael Bay's '96 shoot-em-up. The original DVD, to put it nicely, just didn't cut it. The Rock is a film that requires all the bells and whistles a digital disc could afford and this particular edition delivers the goods. A crisp picture, window-rattling surround sound and a bounty of extras. If you're an action fan and don't own this yet, it's definitely worth the price to scoop up this two disc version. It's been out a while, but I'd advise getting it while you can as Criterion holds limited rights to some of their films.
If you haven't seen it, you probably already know the plot anyway. What saves this film from the ever-growing heap of forgettably brainless action yarns is the chemistry between the leads and Michael Bay's crisp, assured direction. What's that? Michael Bay represents everything wrong with Hollywood? Maybe so, but the guy undeniably knows his audience and what they want. I'm a beer drinking American and sometimes I just like to watch stuff blow up, dagnabbit. The Rock represents Michael Bay in his element. He stays within his limits here so don't go in expecting the overshot result of Jerry Bruckheimer's Titanic envy (Pearl Harbor). Just expect a solid two hour action vehicle full of colorful visuals, quick cuts, a typical 90s Hans Zimmer score and lots of bullets and explosions.
Oh, and good acting. Ten years ago was when I thought Nicolas Cage was actually cool. A great actor with charisma and something of a wild side who didn't really fit the typical leading man as far as looks. A year after The Rock, Cage starred in what is arguably the last great action movie of it's kind (you know, the one with John Travolta). Sadly, his projects lately seem to be less selective and now he's just... well, he's just Nicolas Cage. But here, he shines. A very fun performance. Then there's Sean Connery, who was experiencing something of a career second wind around the time he made The Rock (nine years going since The Untouchables). Always a delight to watch, Connery plays it with class and humor. Ed Harris is the baddie who isn't quite as bad you'd think. Does it with equal parts menace and sympathy. A solid performance.
The rest of the cast make The Rock a blast to not only watch, but to listen to. That's also the result of a decent script. Lots of great lines in this movie, especially from Connery. The story never distracts itself and moves along logically and gracefully. At least as logically and gracefully as a Bruckheimer movie can allow.
I guess I kind of love this movie. I initially gave it four stars, but I'm giving it five. Why? Because I watched it earlier tonight and realized this is maybe one of about fifteen to twenty movies I know by heart. Yikes. Gotta count for something.
Cage Anyone?
2008-03-25 - I enjoyed The Rock as a film...and where else can you buy DVD's used like-new for cheap!
ROcky, Rocky Horror, The ROCK?
2008-03-05 - ROcky, Rocky Horror, The ROCK? Not sure why there are different movie reviews here for different movies, but "THE ROCK" is an action packed, comedic, fast paced flick. Right in the midst of Jerry Bruckheimer's peak. Let's see when, and if, Amazon figures out the differences.
We must stop Michael Bay before he makes another film!!! 
2007-09-29 - I decided to see this film simply because my good friends at Criterion thought highly enough of it to put it in their collection. They obviously did it for the money, because it's not a particularly good film. But then, if the money for this project went to finance DVD's like Berlin Alexanderplatz, then I'm OK with that.
As for the film itself, a friend of mine recently called me in the middle of the night upset and irritated. Thinking he was in jail or in some sort of trouble, but it wasn't like that at all. He had just watched Michael Bay's film of the Transformers, and he said to me "I want to kill Michael Bay". There are a lot of people in the world who despise Michael Bay, and with good reason. This film is a good example of why. The man cuts every 2 or 3 seconds, giving one a massive headache and eye strain. The dialogue here is laughable, as many of the character motivations. Connery has suppposedly been kept in isolation for 20 years or so, yet seems perfectly normal when released into the world. When Connery and Cage's platoon initially meets Harris's band of thugs, the leader of Connery and Cage's platoon goes off on Harris, despite being surrounded by Harris's men (needless to say, they all get killed except Cage and Connery). The acting is incredibly melodramatic, sometimes hilariously so. The film is an immense piece of garbage, but it's better than Bay's Armageddon. Bay's films are emblematic of what's wrong with Hollywood. Bad dialogue, crappy acting, implausible scripts, overwrought direction, etc., etc.. He must be stopped!
For the record, I have friends who worked at Criterion, and they said that Michael was not the typical Hollywood prick. He treated everyone at Criterion pretty well. It don't make his film any better, though....
